MORGANZA - Floodwaters are rising fast and wildlife is being pushed into the roads in Pointe Coupee Parish, creating danger for drivers. 

With levels rising in the Mississippi River, the water is starting to run over the 36-foot Potato Levee, filling up the for-bay in Morganza.

“When it gets to a certain level, I think it’s 36 feet, it comes over and it floods this, which is about 4,000 acres of farming land," said Pointe Coupee Parish Sheriff Rene' Thibodeaux. "That big flood that affected Tennessee and Kentucky really badly is coming down the Mississippi River and the Ohio River and ending up in Morganza, Louisiana, unfortunately."

With all the farmland and woods completely covered, the rising water is pushing animals like deer, hogs and alligators into unexpected territory — straight onto the highway.

"You just never know when one is going to jump out in front of your car, and thousands of dollars of damage is an easy estimate for something like that," Thibodeaux said.

In the last couple of days, there have been multiple wrecks on LA-1 in front of the spillway from cars hitting deer running across the road. 

"Yesterday, I took a ride and there was a family of four or five (deer). They were standing in about two feet of water, and they were just huddled up. They're probably very tired from swimming through all of this, and exhausted and scared and not knowing where to go. When they do make it to the land, they're just running looking for a place to go," Thibodeaux said.

Sheriff Thibodeaux said they expect this water to continue rising for the next few days. Anyone driving through Morganza on LA-1 to the spillway should slow down and be cautious of any animals crossing.